coming up, as thousands denstrat, the supreme court heard legal and moral arguments about same-sex marriage. tim o'brien lays out the issues. also, lucky severson profiles a much-travelled evangelical superstar with neither arms nor legs. and, remembering the sacrifice and triumph of holy week on pilgrimage to chimayo, in the mountains of the new mexico desert.

major founding is provided by the lilly endowment, an indianapolis based family foundation dedicated to founders interest in religion, community development and education. additional funding also provided by mutual of america, designing customized, individual, and group retirement products. that's why we're your retirement company. and the corporation for public broadcasting. welcome. i'm bob abernethy. it's good have you with us. from palm sunday to easter, western christians have been observing holy week, the most sacred time on their calendar. with special rituals, music and worship services, christians around the world have been commemorating the last days of jesus' life before the crucifixion and then his resurrection. there's been particular attention paid to pope francis and the first holy week of his

papacy. many catholics said they were especially moved when francis celebrated the traditional maundy thursday service at a juvenile detention center, where he washed the feet of some young detainees. in a break with tradition, two of them were women and at least two were muslim. francis had a busy week, including a brief visit with pope emeritus benedict xvi at castel gandalfo. the vatican announced that, for now, francis will not be moving into the papal apartments in the apostolic palace overlooking st. peter's square. rather, he will stay in a simpler suite at the vatica guesthouse where he will be living and taking his meals in community with others. in washington this week, religious groups were among those who rallied at the supreme court, as oral arguments were heard for and against california's proposition 8, which would have banned gay

marriage there, and the federal defense of marriage act, doma, which recognizes marriage only between a man and a woman. tim o'brien was at the court, listening to the stices, and he filed this rert. >> reporter: the debate over same-sex marriage that has so divided the country brought thousands on both sides of the issue to the supreme court tuesday and wednesday. they were passionate, and together they made it one of the largest demonstrations at the high court in decades. defenders of traditional marriage also held a separate demonstration on the national mall. religious groups do not speak with one voice on the same-sex marriage issue, but more oppose it than support it. salvatore cordileone, archbishop of san francisco, is one of the co-authors of prop 8. he also chairs the committee on marriage of the u.s. conference of catholic bishops. >> why really, though, are we here?

one simple reason -- marriage matters to kids. what could be more beautiful or even more sacred than a man and a woman coming together to create new life? >> reporter: in court tuesday, lawyers defending proposition 8 pressed that argument that it furthered the state's interest in procreation and child rearing to some skeptical justices. >> in california, coupleshat aren't gay, but can't have children, get married all the time. >> yes, your honor. >> the concern is that re-defining marriage as a genderless institution will sever its abiding connection to its historic, traditional procreative purposes. and it will refocus the purpose of marriage and the definition of marriage away from the raising of children and to the emotional needs andesires of adult >> suppose a state said "because we think that the focus of marriage should be on

procreation, we're not going to give marriage licenses any more to any couple where both people are over the age of 55." would that be constitutional? >> no, your honor. it would not be constitutional. >> because that's the same state interest, i would think. you know, if you're over 55, you don't help us serve the government's interest in regulating procreation through marriage. >> reporter: there has been growing support for same-sex marriage. a majority of americans now support it. nine states now allow it, three of them added only last november. in urging the supreme court to find prop 8 unconstitutional, attorney theodore olson insisted gays and lesbians must have the same fundamental right to marry as heterosexual couples. >> it is just wrong. it is not consistent with the ideals, and the laws and the constitution of this country to take our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters and put them in a class, and deny them rights that we give to everyone else. >> the case that's before you

today is whether or not california can take a class of individuals based upon their characteristics, their distinguishing characteristics, remove from them the right of privacy, liberty, association, spirituality and identity that marriage gives them. >> reporter: but as the hour-long argument came to a close, several justices did not appear ready for a broad national ruling. >> traditional marriage has been around forhousan of years. same-sex marriage is very new. i think it was first adopted in the netherlands in 2000. so there isn't a lot of data about its effect. but you want us to step in and render a decision based on an assessment of the effects of this institution which is newer than cell phones or the internet. i mean we -- we are not -- we do not have the ability to see the future. >> reporter: notwithstanding all

the attention the case has generated, the court could avoid deciding it on a procedural issue -- california chose not to appeal a lower court decision invalidating prop 8 and the justices could find that the amendment's supporters have no legal standing to continue the case on their own. a similar issue could derail the case challenging the defense of marriage act, or doma, which denies gays and lesbians the federal marital benefits routinely accorded heterosexual couples. when the obama administration declined to appeal lower court rulings finding doma unconstitutional, house republican leaders stepped in to continue the fight. the case was brought by edie windsor, now 84, whose spouse and companion of 40 years passed away in 2009, leaving edie the bulk of her estate. that resulted in a federal estate tax of $363,000. even though new york recognized their marriage, she did not qualify for the federal marital

deduction because of doma. windsor sued the united states and won. >> we did win in the lower courts. today is like a spectacular event for me. i mean, it's a lifetime kind of event, and i know that the spirit of my late spouse, thea spayer, is right here watching and listening and would be very proud and happy of where we've come to. >> reporter: windsor sat quietly in the front row of the spectators' section as at least five justices cast doubt on the wisdom, if not the constitutionality of doma. justice kennedy, a moderate whose vote could be crucial, saw doma as intruding on matters historically left to the states. >> you are at real risk of running in conflict with what has always been thought to be the essence of the state police power, which is to regulate marriage, divorce, custody. >> what gives the federal

government the right to be concerned at all at what the definition of marriage is? >> you're saying, "no. state, there are two kinds of marriages, the full marriage and then this sort of skim milk marriage." >> reporter: windsor's lawyers pointed t that doma affects far more than just estate taxes, that there are more than 1,100 laws that treat gay and lesbian couples differently than heterosexual couples. >> your social security benefits and your survivor benefits change based on whether you are married or not, whether you get family medical leave to take care of your spouse depends on whether the federal government recognizes that your spouse is your "spouse." veterans benefits change, and yes, taxes change as well. >> reporter: the justices took their tentative vote in the cases friday but no formal decisions are expected until late june. and the possibility remains they could opt to dismiss one or both cases without any meaningful decision at all.

>> tim, nobody can predict what the court will do but as you listened to the justices in the court, what was your sense of how they're leaning? >> reporter: it is perilous to predict a supreme court decision but in this case it seemed pretty clear that both of these propositions, both of these measures, proposition 8 and doma are in real trouble. i'd be surprised if either one of them is upheld. >> and if that is what the court does, then what is the future for gay marriage? >> reporter: ll, th da, it's very easy. the federal government can not deny marital benefits to same-sex married couples. with prop 8, there's a lot out there. we expect a very narrow decision that will affect only california but a real huge, landmark decision is in play. i think it's possible, although remote, but a decision that will require every state to recognize same-sex marriage and prohibit

diriminationased on sexual orientation from congress to the town school board. >> did you also get the sense that the justices are considering whether the country is ready for gay marriage? >> reporter: you know, bob, so seldom is that a consideration by the justices but i did get the sense it is a consideration in this case. justice sotomayor noted it took 50 years to, for the court to rule in brown vs. board of education, desegregating the nation's schools. that is a big concern which raises another question, if not now, when? >> tim o'brien. many thanks. >> reporter: a pleasure. in other news, the indiana supreme court this week unanimously upheld that state's school voucher program, the most expansive in the country. opponents argued the program violates the separation of church and state since funds can be used at religious schools. but the justices said vouchers

directly benefit students, not the religious institutions. in 2002, the u.s. supreme court upheld a school voucher program in ohio. and in washington, amid an early spring snow storm, members of the episcopal church held a special holy week service meant to raise awareness about violence, particularly gun violence. alongside bishops from around the country, several hundred people prayed for end to all violence, as they performed the traditional stations of the cross, which commemorate the final events leading up to jesus' crucifixion. the day was organized by the episcopal bishops of connecticut in response to december's school shooting there, in newtown. we have a lucky severson story today about nick vujicic, an amazing young evangelist who manages to preach and travel all over the world, and to keep his

sense of humor, even though he was born with neither arms nor legs. >> reporter: this is nick vujicic in los angeles on his way to a sound check before he speaks at the national resurgence conference for future evangelical leaders. it features some of the country's most influential evangelists, including vujicic. >> i'm going to be speaking about this loud. >> reporter: in just a few years, vujicic has become a superstar evangelist. >> i started speaking ten years ago, and we've been across 44 countries, spoken 2,000 times to a live audience of 5 million face to face. >> after the "q" and "a" you want back in the wheelchair to exit right? >> yes. >> reporter: considering that he has no arms and no legs, traveling the world as he does is no small accomplishment. >> sometimes my palms still get sweaty before a speech. how are you all? >> reporter: the people in the audience soon seem to forget that they have probably never met anyone quite as handicapped.

were you put off at all by his physical appearance when you first saw him? >> oh, absolutely not. >> no. nothing at all, nothing at all, you don't even see that, not at all. >> you see the light of jesus in his eyes and that's what you see. >> reporter: one of the featured speakers here is pastor greg laurie of the harvest christian fellowship chches in rirside and vine, california. >> you know, a person may think, "well, i'm having a hard time right now, you know maybe i'm not feeling well or i'm sick or whatever," and when you look at a guy who's facing what nick faces, that's severe disability, and to hear him talk about hope and to talk about purpose and to talk about joy kind of silences you in whatever it was that was troubling you and puts your problems in perspective. >> give me a hug. love you so much. i'm the world guinness book of records holder of 1,749 hugs in 1 hour. my arms fell off.

as a child, i was suicidal and i tried to commit suicide at age 10 because i didn't know the truth, write this down, the truth of my value, the truth of my purpose and the truth of my destiny. so at age 10 i tried to commit suicide with six inches of water in my family bathtub and the first two times i rolled over i was trying to work out how much air i hold in my lungs before i let the water come in and on the third time i rolled over i saw a picture in my minof my mum, my dad and my brother crying at my grave wishing they could have done something more. and that alone stopped me. i realized there is a pain of having a disabled son with no limbs but greater is the pain to have a son without limbs who commits suicide. >> reporter: now the australian-born preacher runs an international nonprofit organization called life without limbs, has authored books, markets inspirational dvds, including one for kids called "no arms, no legs, no worries,"

and is in great demand as a motivational speaker. he has two caregivers who help him manage a very hectic life. bryan tarter traveled with him to 24 countries. what do you think drives him? >> oh, definitely his faith. yeah, his faith in god. there's a lot of people in this world that don't have hope and he just knows that he can give that hope to people. >> and i was very angry at god and i said, "god, if you're real and you love me, where is my miracle?" so then i started doubting that he was real and i said, "god you owe me an explanation." at age 15 god clearly answered me through john chapter 9 about the question of why. jesus came across a man who was born blind and jesus said he was born that way so that the works of god would be revealed through him and faith came over me, tangibly i felt peace. your son and your daughter needs an excellent father more than an excellent college. >> reporter: many in the

audience here are laymen or aspiring ministers and his message to them is to not forget their families. >> god gave me a wife to enjoy the blessing of being married, and being a husband and being a father. >> reporter: his concern for family grew considerably when he got married a few months ago. now his new wife is pregnant. >> and just a couple weeks ago, i felt my son kick in her womb and it was amazing. >> reporter: amazing for someone born with an extremely rare disease called tetra-amelia syndrome characterized by the absence of all four limbs, but in his case, a foot with two toes that enable him to type, and answer hundreds of texts every day. he can surf, play drums, comb his hair, brush his teeth, shave, answer the phone and a lot more as bryan tarter learned when he went for a job interview as his caregiver. >> the first time you meet him he just breaks down your walls,

gives you a hug and you actually forget that he doesn't have arms and legs. >> i am not nervous yet. my knees are not shaking, my heart is hot beating yet, but i'll tell you when i'm on that plane, i'm going to be going -- [ screams ] >> you know he'll go and speak in a church or in an arena or in a stadium and everyone will think what a wonderful story he has and how great it was that he came but you know nick still has to go home and face that disability every night and every morning. i've thought about that. >> reporter: he says he still goes through bouts of depression. >> we all are going through ups and downs no matter how strong we are in our faith in god, there are still some wild cards that come along our way and we ask god what happened? why? >> reporter: vujicic says the worst part of his childhood was the lonenes >> just five years ago i met a little boy with no arms and no legs, first kid that i ever met that looked nearly exactly like me, left foot and everything.

and i heard he was getting teased at his school. so i went to his school and i shared about my life and shared how cool i thought daniel was and now daniel is the coolest kid on the block. >> reporter: he says it's his mission to travel to high schools around the country preaching against bullying, which he considers to be a very serious problem. he knows from personal experience. >> you know i actually remember going up to some people who were teasing me at school and i confronted them about how they treated me and they were surprised that i had the guts to come up to them and i went right up to them and i said why do you do that? why do you tease me? oh, it's hurting you? i didn't mean to. oh really? now i'm going to tell you stop it and by the way i forgive you. and i asked him to give me a hug. >> reporter: later this year, he'll speak to high school students in oregon on the subject of bullying, and then there will be other preaching engagemts on the subject of his faith and his purpose. >> i just hope people see that

if god can do something beautiful with my broken pieces, then god truly has a plan for each and everyone of us. >> reporter: next year, nick vujicic plans to preach in 27 countries. for "religion & ethics newsweekly," i'm lucky severson in los angeles. finally, weave a belief and acti segment authe last days of holy week, including a pilgrimage to chimayo, in new mexico. participants experienced their own suffering and joy as they remembered jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. our guides are two episcopal priests, rocky schuster of taos and kenneth semon of santa fe. >> i try to tell people, don't just come on sunday, you know, you'll miss it. you'll miss everything that this means and all that leads up to

it. they're called the three soln days. to go through the experience of the three days is really to go through what changes life for people. and it starts maundy thursday with the washing of the feet and the last supper and jesus' institution of the holy eucharist. >> jesus gives the new commandment -- love one another as i have loved you, as opposed to as you would have others love you. you serve one another, you feed one another, you take care of one another, even to the point of death. and in the process of doing that, you'll find new life, you'll get the easter experience, you'll discover what eternal life is really all about. >> i must tell you, it's so humbling to wash people's feet. i cannot tell you what an experience that is, and what a privilege it is really. in jesus' day they weren't necessarily wearing shoes and, in fact, a servant could not be compelled to wash someone's feet.

so you see, it's even more of an expression of service and humility before your fellows. we dress in white, so it's a great change from the purple we've been wearing, or the red we've worn, throughout holy week. when the service is over, after everyone has received communion, we will process into the "garden of gethsemane," which is in our chapel. jesus says, "could you watch with me but an hour?" he says that to his disciples. and so people will sit there throughout the night, in prayer of course, silence. >> we know that he leaves the last supper, he goes and prays, and is captured and taken to trial. >> at t endf the service, instead of the final blessing, we strip the altar. we pull everything out of the sanctuary, everything with color. and all the while we are stripping the altar, the choir will be chanting a psalm of, you

know, this is very serious -- life is coming to an end. >> you get the imagery of jesus being stripped of his clothing and whipped and the rest of the starkness, of the rest of the story. >> the lights go off. you feel the darkness descend ov the earth, you really do. >> good friday is the ultimate act of loving us. it is the crucifixion, it is taking the suffering that he took under arrest, it is the dying. and so doing these physical things, and acts of contrition, make a lot of sense to people on good friday. >> pilgrimage becomes a metaphor for life, you know, we're going to the holy place, following our lord who goes before us. and the tradition here is to go to chimayo, to this wonderful little place, the santuario. there's a tradition that the earth, the dirt in the sacristy, has healing powers.

and so it's a sort of sacred site. >> this is the most religious thing that i do every year because it just feels really holy. and i suppose i could walk it by myself any other time of year, but it wouldn't be with this crowd. >> we're going to be tired. we're going to be very exhausted by the end of the day. but, you know, jesus d this for us and so we got to give a little bit back, as much as we can. so it is kind of very spiritually uplifting. >> that physical participation adds an extra dimension. it's not just sitting in a pew or standing or kneeling. that actual physical activity puts it into your body, so you feel it. >> you're physically exhausted, you have blisters. and i mean you're just worn out. and it just gives you such a tiny little taste of what jesus had to endure for us. >> when you come to easter sunday, our desire is to not just give thanks for what

happened two thousand years ago but, in truth, to comprehend the new life that the resurrection brings to all of us. that when we love one another as christ loved us, we actually get to live that resurrected life. and to take that out with us when we leave here, not just to serve one another but to serve everybody we encounter. that whole service represents the joy we can have in the world, the rest of the world, the rest of the time. that our program for n. i'm bob abernethy. happy easter. you can follow us on twitter and facebook and watch us anytime on the pbs app for iphones and ipads. there's much more on our website. you can comment on all of our stories and share them. audio and video podcasts are also available. join us at pbs.org. as we leave you, more scenes of easter sunday at the cathedral bascilica of the immaculate conception in denver.

major funding for relion andthics weekly isrovidedy the lilly endowment, dedicated to its founders interest in religion, community development and education. additional funding also provided by mutual of america, designing customized, individual and group retirement products. that's why we're your retirement company. and the corporation for public broadcasting.